1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image reproduction apparatus and an image reproduction program for displaying a multi-image frame on a monitor screen.
2. Description of the Related Art
Still images captured by a digital still camera, hereinafter simply referred to as images, are usually printed out on photographic papers or the like. The images can also be displayed on a monitor screen of a personal computer, which is used as an image viewer. In most cases, an image viewer software has a slide show function which automatically displays a plurality of images sequentially at specified time intervals. By using this function, the plurality of images can be viewed with a simple operation.
To view the images as a slide show, a display time of each image, that is, a frame change interval needs to be set up. For instance, to view the images, the frame change interval is set long. On the other hand, to search an intended image among a plurality of images, the frame change interval is set short. Note that it is also possible to change over the frames manually by a frame advance function.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 07-203373 discloses an image reproduction apparatus which displays plural images (thumbnail images) in a matrix for an image search. This image reproduction apparatus helps to perform the image search efficiently by changing the frame having plural images to a next frame having other images. Further, Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 2002-112087 discloses an image reproduction apparatus which is capable of changing over between a normal search mode and a fast search mode. In the normal search mode, each image is shifted one by one in a frame so that the earliest image is disappeared from the frame, and instead a new image is introduced. In the fast search mode, the images are changed over on a frame basis in the same manner as in Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 7-203373.
In many cases, the image viewer software has a function to change not only the frame change interval, but also the number of images displayed in one frame as described above. To search an intended image in a short time, a user needs to individually adjust the frame change interval and the number of images displayed in one frame, so as to find an optimum combination of the frame change interval and the number of images.
However, when the number of images displayed in one frame is changed, time required for viewing all the images displayed in one frame is also changed. For instance, when the number of images displayed in one frame is increased, the time required for viewing the displayed images is also increased. Accordingly, it becomes necessary to extend the frame change interval. Thus, every time the number of images displayed in one frame is changed, the frame change interval needs to be changed, and this is troublesome and inconvenient.